Severe thunderstorm watch and tornado risk issued for Montreal

First it was the heat wave, and now a severe thunderstorm watch has been announced for Châteauguay – La Prairie, the Laval, Longueuil-Varennes, and the Montreal Island area.

“We will see strong winds and heavy downpours and there could be a slight risk of a tornado. Montreal can expect the thunderstorm to arrive between 5 and 7 pm,” Environment Canada meteorologist Amelie Bertrand told Daily Hive.

“We have to watch the conditions and see how it is going to develop over the afternoon. But for sure we are looking at very heavy downpours and probably very severe winds up to 90 km/h or more,” she said.

Possibly severe thunderstorms are expected to develop in the next few hours ahead of a cold front. Areas north of the St. Lawrence River will be the first affected and the thunderstorms will move over areas near the St. Lawrence around supper time. The cold front will then affect areas south of the St. Lawrence River.

There is a risk of a tornado, strong wind gusts and heavy downpours with these thunderstorms.

Severe thunderstorm watches are issued when atmospheric conditions are favourable for the development of thunderstorms that could produce one or more of the following: large hail, damaging winds, torrential rainfall.